A Game, A Riot, A Death, A Birth

I want to believe we're better than that.
I want to assume we know better. That we've learned, that we've watched in reruns what happened in '94 and thought ' we've come farther.'

It's not true.
My team lost. The better team won, I'll admit that, that Tim Thomas was a wall, that the 30 odd average shots per game we did get on net did not go in, the ones that did go in were all kind of empty netters....as exhilarating as they were, we beat Thomas just 8 times.
I'll admit all of that, just as I'll admit 'there is always next year.'
Ya but...
We had this year!!! This year was awesome!! President's Trophy, Jennings Trophy, First in the league, Stanley Cup Finals (holyshit) etc etc! SO AWESOME!
But we were one game short. We needed to win 4 games and we won 3. And that's okay, someone had to lose and I can say that and watch Chara toss Stanley around like a piece of tin foil and I'm kind of happy for the Canadians on the team that won and I can watch their stupid parade and feel sick inside. Some say ' it's just hockey' - well it is to some but to others it's the difference between a good day and a bad day, and it's your every topic of conversation, thought, dreams. When your team wins, it's the greatest feeling in the world. When it loses, you think 'we'll get em next time'

There is no next time in  Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. I've never known such agony and stomach churning nervousness before last Wednesday ( I did watch in '94- but I was 14, I had other teenage-parent's divorcing- related issues)

But as an invested Canucks fan-this year, when my team lost, I cried. I drank some tequila with my sister and then walked home and watched history rear it's ugly head on national television. At some points I couldn't distinguish if they were showing live footage, or 1994 tape. The only thing that distinguished them were the blue and white jerseys.
And there was a lot of them and that's what upsets me the most. I think in '94 the colors of the Canucks were still black and orange, so it blended in a bit more than the blue, white and green of today. Today's jerseys stand out a lot better, for the worse. Seeing thousands of Kesler/Burrows/Sedin/Bieksa jerseys turn over cars and light shit on fire reflects badly on the Canucks fans wearing the same jerseys and not rioting.
I want to believe the police chief who said they were anarchists and thugs. I want to believe that the people in Canucks jerseys weren't true fans. The only thing I could think of when they showed people jumping on top of cars and hollering? You know those apes that thump their chest and howl when they accomplish ape stuff? Ya, that's what happened in Vancouver Wednesday night- it was either a zombie apocalypse or monkeys thumping their chest. So shameful, so disgusting, so disgraceful.

Not so to the people who took their time and money to go downtown the next morning and help clean up- kudos to you, thanks to whomever organized that. AMAZING!!! Those people should be given the order of Canada or a free parking sticker or something- such ownership and love and respect for their fellow citizens, and their cops (who did everything they could without actually drawing their guns-so eff you to whoever says they could have done more)
It took one person to light something on fire, knock some newstand over, or throw bottles at a giant screen, before everyone else got involved. It's the mob mentality.
That same mentality can be attributed to the clean up efforts the next day. It took one person to say " Hey, this is not my Vancouver" and others to agree and follow. And that's how Vancouver got cleaned up yesterday, alongside city workers and shop owners, people did their part .It took one person to write a message on a piece of plywood saying ' I'm sorry'  and hundreds followed.
It took one person to do that a couple of years ago- Terry Fox. He said he couldn't stand watching kids in the cancer unit die of a curable disease and he vowed to help. And he did. His parent's started a charity in his name and it's raised millions of dollars- around the world.
Betty Fox, mother of Terry, died today.
Betty Fox was....Terry. And vice versa.I think we all know what that means. There isn't much more I can say about that woman that we haven't seen in footage of Terry running, suffering,waving and smiling across Canada and haven't seen in Rollie and Terry's siblings as they help to spread Terry's marathon of hope across the country, the world.
Today was also the day my ex roomie had a baby- a bunch of labour hours later and a text from the new Dad ("Holy Crap! What an adventure!") and the circle is complete.

And that's all you need to know. It's smiles from here on in, cause life goes on, hockey games are played, riots are cleaned up and the true nature of people are shown, good or bad. Let's make sure the good outshines the bad- it's more fun that way.

Order in the court

A couple of weeks ago I got a mysterious letter in the mail. Upon opening it read 'Dear Prospective Juror'...

Boo hiss.

I immediately thought this was a bad thing. Everyone I told however, was jealous. I couldn't think of why, and I asked everyone how I could get out of it. Alison told me to become a lawyer and I would be immediately excused. Well, okay, but that seems a little excessive. Another told me to book a flight somewhere and I wouldn't have to partake in anything. 'Hmm, well that sounds like two-birds-one-stone-productive, maybe'  Melody was jealous and thought it would be cool, Mom said 'walk in there and yell 'He's guilty!' and 'Act crazy!' Shannon said 'do it, the bad guy will be hot. They're always hot' Patti mentioned asking my employer to 'write a letter explaining how you are absolutely essential to the business and he can't get by without you' (I did this. I'm still waiting for a letter.)

My biggest problem with this is that I am to a fault, so so so very curious. I wanted to know what the case was for, who was picked, what the judges said. Whose fence was 3 feet over which neighbours land??
So I told the boss I'd be gone for the morning, get out of it, and be back at work tra la la.
Note to self: If ever you are chosen for jury selection, bring a sandwich and a book. Better yet, bring chips and guacamole for all 300 of your new friends you'll get to know while waiting to be called into court.
And don't just bring one book, bring all 7 Harry Potter books. I guarantee you that you will make it to the part where Cedric dies and Voldemort returns before they call your name.

I arrived at 850 Burdett Street and followed the instructions to head to the 3rd floor. Once the doors opened there I walked out expecting...well I'm not sure really. But not an empty room except for 300 folding chairs set up in rows. 3 hours later and there was more people than chairs, everyone was chatting and wondering what was happening, and here is what I had learned:
1. My new friend Frank likes collecting Hawaiian and Blues records and was turning 60 that day. I told him I'd organize a sing along of Happy Birthday once we were all there. He didn't think that would go over well.
2. I was the only one that showed up in a Canucks jersey. What does one wear to jury selection anyhow?
3. There are civil jury selections and criminal jury selections. I was criminal. (Damn) *editors note: some civil trials last longer than criminal trials. That's scary.
4. I get bored really, really easily.
5. Everyone has a cell phone. They check for texts and calls obsessiviely.
5a) Everyone plays Tapzoo.
5b) Everyone plays Angry Birds
6. Throw 300 strangers in a room together and watch a social experiment unfold. It's fascinating.
7. Anyone and everyone will bring up hockey at some point. (It was playoff time, but still, we considered moving chairs and playing some shinny)
8. People have very strong opinions on Don Cherry.
9. Courtrooms automatically make you feel as if you've done something wrong. Your palms sweat and you feel all grown up ish. You're officially an adult, no more 'playing house' .
10. When the guard says "All Rise" this does not mean you're singing 'O Canada' (I thought we were)

I was raised watching many TV and movie courtroom dramas. You call the judge 'Your Honor' and people scream things like 'I'm out of order, this whole court is out of order!!!' and Objections and Overruled are hurled everywhere and OJ gets off because some juries are absolutely blinded by celebrity, even if the freaking blood trail leads from the crime scene to his car to his house to his bedside and the oh wait, I got carried away again. (OJ's blood was at the crime scene too. That's all I'm saying)
So I was ready for drama. But I forgot the protocol. When they say 'All Rise' you get up when the judge(in Canada it's 'My Lord') enters, and you sit after he sits, and you wait for him to tell you what to do and what the case is about and your civil duty as a human being blah blah blah, oh look, there's a box, why is there a box there, why is the guard guarding the box?

I AM NOT A GOOD JURY SELECTION PERSON.

I'm terribly bad at focusing and staying on point. Turns out I have trouble been impartial too, which is why I got excused. But I was still on the hook for another case they were choosing and let me tell you, it was like Juror's Idol- except you didn't want the lawyer to call your number, because it was 2pm and we'd been there for 6 hours with a 10 minute break and you looked for any excuse to get out of there.
Like Larry who was picked for a break and enter case and tried to get out of it like this:

Guard: "My Lord, the panellist would like to address the court""
Judge: "Very well. I'll allow it" (He said this, he actually said it, I squealed with delight)
Larry: "My Lord, I, um, (clears throat) I dated Judge so and so's daughter a couple of years ago"
Judge: snickering "Uh, well, in this particular case I don't believe that has any relevance here, so I, uh, will ask you to go ahead and take your oath"
He said this in front of 40 other people waiting or not waiting for their number to be called. I clamped my hands over my mouth to keep from guffawing, as I am wont to do.

So the jury was picked and I was not one of them (the judge told us 'if the lawyer challenges you or doesn't want you, it's nothing you did, it's nothing personal) we were allowed to leave. I'm sad to say there were no emails or facebooks or cell numbers exchanged and there were no long sad good byes between me and my new besties (Kathryn, I hope you caught up on all your marking) (Eric, after looking up 'learn to knit' on YouTube, ordering materials and having it delivered to the 3rd floor of courtroom 317 and starting the project, I hope you finish that sweater for your future kid).
Again, and I must stress, if you are ever summoned for jury duty, run the other way, book a flight, pretend you're over 65, make some sandwiches, bring a pillow, become a lawyer and bring a book(s).